


The Empress' Proposal

by WotanAnubis



Category: Jade Empire
Genre: F/F, Marriage Proposal, Open Palm Ending, very mild angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:31:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WotanAnubis/pseuds/WotanAnubis
Summary: In which Silk Fox decides that enough is enough.





	The Empress' Proposal

Sun Lian the Heavenly Lily, Empress of the Jade Empire, stormed through the hallways of her Palace, the yellow sleeves of her elegant dress fluttering behind her, the jade beads of her imperial headdress swaying back and forth. Servants suddenly found side rooms in dire need of cleaning. Bureaucrats spontaneously decided that they didn't need to bother the Empress with whatever minor matter was on their mind. Guards who were on the ferocious lookout for any possible intruder entirely failed to spot her.

The Celestial Daughter was beloved throughout the world and everywhere people spoke highly of her justice and grace. But some days it was just better to stay out of her way.

Sun Lian soon reached the Sheltered Garden, the most forbidden and, to many, most baffling area of the Imperial Palace. Despite the name, it was only barely a garden. A lot of time, effort and silver had gone into carrying soil and plants up to the Palace, only for the garden to be utterly unattended. Trees and flowers and vines and weeds grew everywhere, without rhyme or reason. The whole place was choked with untamed greenery. How, people wondered, could anyone possibly enjoy the beauty of nature without a decent gardener to bring it to the fore?

But not a lot of people wondered, because few people even knew it existed, and fewer still were allowed entrance. Only Empress Sun Lian herself and her... companion... Radiant Jen Zi.

Sun Lian felt the storm raging in heart dying down ever so slightly as she stepped into the cold sunlight of the Garden. Radiant Jen Zi sat on a somewhat empty patch of grass, silent and serene. Sitting there, she almost seemed otherworldly. As though this overgrown garden was actually a Heaven intruding on the real world and Radiant Jen Zi was its Celestial Mistress.

Sun Lian picked her way through the weeds and flowers and sat down opposite her love. Jen Zi, her eyes closed, gave no indication she'd even noticed her. She had, of course. Experience told Sun Lian that it was quite impossible to sneak up on Jen Zi. But she did remain quiet.

Sun Lian breathed out. Perhaps quiet was what she needed right now. A brief of moment of silent sunlight to calm her down a bit. She was still angry, but she allowed it to be this wild emotion rampaging in her chest, disconnected from the rest of her. It wouldn't be fair if she took out her anger on Jen Zi, after all. Well, not very fair, in any case.

"So, who was it this time?" Radiant Jen Zi asked, her voice a quiet melody.

"Lord Jian," Sun Lian replied with a snort.

"He made the usual arguments, I suppose?"

It was more a statement than a question.

"Of course he did," Sun Lian replied. She continued in a mocking, sing-song voice, "Oh, Empress who will live for a thousand years, you're an only child and your late uncles didn't have any children either. You must marry for the good of the dynasty or else distant cousins will fight over the throne after your death and plunge the Empire into chaos."

"Nothing new, then," said Jen Zi.

"Oh, no, it gets better," the Empress said bitterly. "Lord Jian had the gall to take along an astronomer. He told me that he'd studied the Heavens closely and that it obvious the star of Sun was fading in the night sky, foretelling the inevitable doom of the Sun dynasty unless..."

"Unless you married one of Jian's sons," said Jen Zi.

"You should have seen the look on his face. On both their faces," Sun Lian seethed. "That smug arrogance. He knew he was being grossly insulting and he didn't care. My ancestors would have had him executed on the spot and exterminated his entire clan for his presumption."

"It's a good thing you're not your ancestors, then," said Jen Zi.

"Maybe so," said Sun Lian. "In any case, I've had enough of this. We're getting married."

A faint smile cross Jen Zi's lips. "Not the most romantic proposal I've ever heard."

"Sorry. I just..." Sun Lian sighed. "I'm not in a romantic mood right now. But I'm done. I've tried as best I could to carve a space out for me, for us, and what happened? Every Lord and Lady in the Empire seizes on my discretion as an excuse to hurl insults at my face and make brazen power plays. It can't and won't continue like this."

"Oh," said Jen Zi.

It was astonishing how much hurt disappointment Jen Zi could put in a single sound. The Empress looked away, blushing with shame. She fidgeted helplessly with one of her yellow sleeves. She wished she knew what to do. Or say.

She was Empress! Installed upon the Imperial Throne by the Celestial Bureaucracy to carry out their heavenly will. Her word wasn't just law, it was _divine_ law!

And none of it meant anything if she couldn't marry the one person in all the world she truly loved.

Moving with slow precision, Sun Lian undid the strings of her imperial headdress and put it down on the ground. The jade beads tangled in the grass. Next, she took out her hairpins and shook her head, allowing her long, black hair to fall down her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Jen Zi asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Sun Lian bent forward in supplication, pressing her forehead into the dirt.

"Please, will you marry your Silk Fox?"

There was silence. It was not a good silence. No quiet serenity here. The air was thick and disturbed. Radiant Jen Zi's breath was unsteady.

"How far are you willing to go for this?" Jen Zi asked.

"Wherever you wish to go, I will follow," said Silk Fox. "I'll surrender my throne, if you wish it. I'll end the Sun dynasty, if you require it. I'll abandon my name, if that's what it takes. All I was, I will destroy, if it means I can be your wife."

Silence.

Then, a vague, faint chuckle.

"You do know how to be dramatic sometimes," Jen Zi said.

"I mean every word of it," Silk Fox said, head still pressed against the soil.

"I don't doubt it," said Jen Zi.

Silk Fox felt Jen Zi's strong hand gently take her own, lifting her up to her feet. Sun Lian stood in front of her love, dirt on her face, tears in her eyes.

"I'll marry you," said Radiant Jen Zi. "And I won't even ask you to give up your Empire."

Sun Lian managed a smile. "I'll have to find some other dowry, then."

Jen Zi kissed her. In a way it was a familiar kiss. Sun Lian knew all the gentle contours of her love's beautiful lips. And yet, in another way, it was exciting and new. It was their very first kiss. It wasn't hidden in some private place, away from the prying eyes of the court.

Well, it _was_ , but it didn't have to be. She wasn't kissing her '... companion...' but her love. Her wife. The Heavenly Lily's... other Lily. The Entwined Lilies.

Sun Lian pulled away. It was all too soon and her body screamed at her to enjoy Jen Zi's lips just little bit longer, but there were still things that needed to be said. And once she'd said them, then they could kiss again.

"I'll have to issue a declaration," the Empress said. "An Imperial marriage is kind of an event. Everyone will know we are to be each other's wives. I imagine it's going to cause quite the uproar."

"Good," said Radiant Jen Zi.

"Good? Really?" said Sun Lian. "You're not at all bothered we're about to upset the harmonious working of the Empire?"

"Harmony without justice is just tyranny," said Jen Zi. "The Empire can use a bit of shaking up once in a while. But more importantly..."

"Yes?" Sun Lian said.

"You really need a bath," Jen Zi said. "Somehow you got dirt all over your face."

Sun Lian laughed. "I think you'll find _we_ need a bath."

The two women turned to leave. As they did so, Radiant Jen Zi bent over to pick the imperial headdress out of the weeds.

"Oh, just leave it," said Sun Lian. "I'll go get it when I need it."

"As you wish, my Silk Fox," Jen Zi replied.


End file.
